We construct hyperbolic groups with the following properties: The boundary of the group has big dimension, it is separated by a Cantor set and the group does not split. This shows that Bowditch's theorem that characterizes splittings of hyperbolic groups over 2-ended groups in terms of the boundary can not be extended to splittings over more complicated subgroups.
The paper is concerned with Kropholler's conjecture on splitting a finitely generated group over a codimension-1 subgroup. For a subgroup H of a group G, we define the notion of "finite splitting height" which generalises the finite-height property. By considering the dual CAT(0) cube complex associated to a codimension-1 subgroup H in G, we show that the Kropholler-Roller conjecture holds when H has finite splitting height in G. Examples of subgroups of finite height are stable subgroups or more generally strongly quasiconvex subgroups. Examples of subgroups of finite splitting height include…
We show that if $H$ is an almost normal subgroup of $G$ such that both $H$ and $G$ are of type $VFP$ and vcd($G$) = vcd($H$) + 1, then $G$ is the fundamental group of a graph of groups in which all vertex and edge groups are commensurable to $H$. We also investigate almost normal subgroups of one-relator groups and duality groups.
In this paper, we investigate boundaries of parabolic subgroups of Coxeter groups. Let $(W,S)$ be a Coxeter system and let $T$ be a subset of $S$ such that the parabolic subgroup $W_T$ is infinite. Then we show that if a certain set is quasi-dense in $W$, then $W \partialΣ(W_T,T)$ is dense in the boundary $\partialΣ(W,S)$ of the Coxeter system $(W,S)$, where $\partialΣ(W_T,T)$ is the boundary of $(W_T,T)$.
Let G be a finitely generated group having the property that any action of any finite-index subgroup of G by homeomorphisms of the circle must have a finite orbit. (By a theorem of E.Ghys, lattices in simple Lie groups of real rank at least two have this property.) Suppose that such a G acts on a compact manifold M by automorphisms of a codimension-one C2 foliation, F. We show that if F has a compact leaf, then some finite-index subgroup of G fixes a compact leaf of F. Furthermore, we give sufficient conditions for some finite-index subgroup of G to fix each leaf of F.
There is a family of hyperbolic groups known as hyperbolic hydra which contain heavily distorted free subgroups. We prove the existence of Cannon--Thurston maps (that is, maps of the boundaries induced by subgroup inclusion) for these free subgroups. It is known that Cannon--Thurston maps between hyperbolic space boundaries can exist even in the presence of arbitrarily heavy (even non-recursive) distortion. The hyperbolic hydra examples show that Cannon--Thurston maps can exist even between hyperbolic group boundaries in the presence of arbitrarily heavy primitive recursive distortion.
We show that a one-ended simply connected at infinity hyperbolic group $G$ with enough codimension-1 surface subgroups has $\partial G \cong \mathbb{S}^2$. Combined with a result of Markovic, our result gives a new characterization of virtually fundamental groups of hyperbolic 3-manifolds. Keywords: CAT(0) cube complexes, Hyperbolic groups, hyperbolic 3-manifolds.
Let $K$ be a field, and let $\Aut \,K^2$ be the group of polynomial automorphisms of $K^2$. If $K$ is infinite, this group is nonlinear. Moreover it contains nonlinear FG subgroups when $\ch\,K=0$. On the opposite, it contains some linear "finite codimension" subgroups. This phenomenon is specific to dimension two: it is also proved that "finite codimension" subgroups of $\Aut\,K^3$ are nonlinear, even for a finite field $K$.
We describe the kernel of the canonical map from the Floyd boundary of a relatively hyperbolic group to its Bowditch boundary. Using our methods we then prove that a finitely generated group $H$ admitting a quasi-isometric map $ϕ$ into a relatively hyperbolic group $G$ is relatively hyperbolic with respect to a system of subgroups whose image under $ϕ$ is situated in a uniformly bounded distance from the parabolic subgroups of $G$.
The question which motivates the article is the following: given a group acting on a CAT(0) cube complex, how can we prove that it is acylindrically hyperbolic? Keeping this goal in mind, we show a weak acylindricity of the action on the contact graph associated to a CAT(0) cube complex, and we prove a characterisation of WPD contracting isometries of CAT(0) cube complexes. As a first consequence, we find alternative arguments to show several criteria which were proved by Indira Chatterji and Alexandre Martin. Next, we show that if a group acts essentially and acylindrically on the hyperplanes…
We study the Bowditch boundaries of relatively hyperbolic group pairs, focusing on the case where there are no cut points. We show that if $(G,\mathcal{P})$ is a rigid relatively hyperbolic group pair whose boundary embeds in $S^2$, then the action on the boundary extends to a convergence group action on $S^2$. More generally, if the boundary is connected and planar with no cut points, we show that every element of $\mathcal{P}$ is virtually a surface group. This conclusion is consistent with the conjecture that such a group $G$ is virtually Kleinian. We give numerous examples to show the nece…
We study Morse subgroups and Morse boundaries of random right-angled Coxeter groups in the Erdős--Rényi model. We show that at densities below $\left(\sqrt{\frac{1}{2}}-ε\right)\sqrt{\frac{\log{n}}{n}}$ random right-angled Coxeter groups almost surely have Morse hyperbolic surface subgroups. This implies their Morse boundaries contain embedded circles and they cannot be quasi-isometric to a right-angled Artin group. Further, at densities above $\left(\sqrt{\frac{1}{2}}+ε\right)\sqrt{\frac{\log{n}}{n}}$ we show that, almost surely, the hyperbolic Morse special subgroups of a random right-angled…
We show that the Gromov boundary of the free product of two infinite hyperbolic groups is uniquely determined up to homeomorphism by the homeomorphism types of the boundaries of its factors. We generalize this result to graphs of hyperbolic groups over finite subgroups. Finally, we give a necessary and sufficient condition for the Gromov boundaries of any two hyperbolic groups to be homeomorphic (in terms of the topology of the boundaries of factors in terminal splittings over finite subgroups).
For $i= 1,2$, let $G_i$ be cocompact groups of isometries of hyperbolic space $\Hyp^n$ of real dimension $n$, $n \geq 3$. Let $H_i \subset G_i$ be infinite index quasiconvex subgroups satisfying one of the following conditions: 1) limit set of $H_i$ is a codimension one topological sphere. 2) limit set of $H_i$ is an even dimensional topological sphere. 3) $H_i$ is a codimension one duality group. This generalizes (1). In particular, if $n = 3$, $H_i$ could be any freely indecomposable subgroup of $G_i$. 4) $H_i$ is an odd-dimensional Poincare Duality group $PD(2k+1)$. This generalizes (2). We…
Given a class of compact spaces, we ask which groups can be maximal parabolic subgroups of a relatively hyperbolic group whose boundary is in the class. We investigate the class of 1-dimensional connected boundaries. We get that any non-torsion infinite f.g. group is a maximal parabolic subgroup of some relatively hyperbolic group with connected one-dimensional boundary without global cut point. For boundaries homeomorphic to a Sierpinski carpet or a 2-sphere, the only maximal parabolic subgroups allowed are virtual surface groups (hyperbolic, or virtually $\mathbb{Z} + \mathbb{Z}$).
Given a countable group $G$ splitting as a free product $G=G_1\ast\dots\ast G_k\ast F_N$, we establish classification results for subgroups of the group $Out(G,\mathcal{F})$ of all outer automorphisms of $G$ that preserve the conjugacy classes of each $G_i$. We show that every finitely generated subgroup $H\subseteq Out(G,\mathcal{F})$ either contains a relatively fully irreducible automorphism, or else it virtually preserves the conjugacy class of a proper free factor relative to the decomposition (the finite generation hypothesis on $H$ can be dropped for $G=F_N$, or more generally when $G$ …
The intersection pattern of the translates of the limit set of a quasi-convex subgroup of a hyperbolic group can be coded in a natural incidence graph, which suggests connections with the splittings of the ambient group. A similar incidence graph exists for any subgroup of a group. We show that the disconnectedness of this graph for codimension one subgroups leads to splittings. We also reprove some results of Peter Kropholler on splittings of groups over malnormal subgroups and variants of them.
An almost Abelian Lie group is a non-Abelian Lie group with a codimension 1 Abelian normal subgroup. The majority of 3-dimensional real Lie groups are almost Abelian, and they appear in all parts of physics that deal with anisotropic media - cosmology, crystallography etc. In theoretical physics and differential geometry, almost Abelian Lie groups and their homogeneous spaces provide some of the simplest solvmanifolds on which a variety of geometric structures such as symplectic, Kähler, spin etc., are currently studied in explicit terms. Recently, almost Abelian Lie algebras were classified a…
In this article we improve the known uniform bound for subgroup growth of Chevalley groups over $\mathbf{G}(\mathbb{F}_p[[t]])$. We introduce a new parameter, the ridgeline number $v(\mathbf{G})$, and give new bounds for the subgroup growth of $\mathbf{G}(\mathbb{F}_p[[t]])$ expressed through $v(\mathbf{G})$. We achieve this by deriving a new estimate for the codimension of $[U,V]$ where $U$ and $V$ are vector subspaces in the Lie algebra of $\mathbf{G}$.
For a group hyperbolic relative to virtually nilpotent subgroups, on a cusped graph associated to the group, we construct a random walk whose Martin boundary is the Bowditch boundary of the group. Moreover, the harmonic measure is a conformal density corresponding to a hyperbolic Green metric and is exact dimensional on the Bowditch boundary. The latter equipped with a visual distance induced by the Green metric is an Ahlfors-regular metric measure space. The dimension is given in terms of the drift, a Green drift and the asymptotic entropy. The Patterson-Sullivan density for the action on the…
We consider splittings of groups over finite and two-ended subgroups. We study the combinatorics of such splittings using generalisations of Whitehead graphs. In the case of hyperbolic groups, we relate this to the topology of the boundary. In particular, we give a proof that the boundary of a one-ended strongly accessible hyperbolic group has no global cut point.
A closed subgroup $H$ of a locally compact group $G$ is confined if the closure of the conjugacy class of $H$ in the Chabauty space of $G$ does not contain the trivial subgroup. We establish a dynamical criterion on the action of a totally disconnected locally compact group $G$ on a compact space $X$ ensuring that no relatively amenable subgroup of $G$ can be confined. This property is equivalent to the fact that the action of $G$ on its Furstenberg boundary is free. Our criterion applies to the Neretin groups. We deduce that each Neretin group has two inequivalent irreducible unitary represen…
Using Cohen's classification of symplectic reflection groups, we prove that the parabolic subgroups, that is, stabilizer subgroups, of a finite symplectic reflection group are themselves symplectic reflection groups. This is the symplectic analogue of Steinberg's Theorem for complex reflection groups. Using computational results required in the proof, we show the non-existence of symplectic resolutions for symplectic quotient singularities corresponding to three exceptional symplectic reflection groups, thus reducing further the number of cases for which the existence question remains open. An…
We prove that Artin groups from a class containing all large-type Artin groups are systolic. This provides a concise yet precise description of their geometry. Immediate consequences are new results concerning large-type Artin groups: biautomaticity; existence of $EZ$-boundaries; the Novikov conjecture; descriptions of finitely presented subgroups, of virtually solvable subgroups, and of centralizers for infinite order elements; the Burghelea conjecture; existence of low-dimensional models for classifying spaces for some families of subgroups.
A {\it $k$-involution} is an involution with a fixed point set of codimension $k$. The conjugacy class of such an involution, denoted $S_k$, generates $\text{Möb}(n)$-the the group of isometries of hyperbolic $n$-space-if $k$ is odd, and its orientation preserving subgroup if $k$ is even. In this paper, we supply effective lower and upper bounds for the $S_k$ word length of $\text{Möb}(n)$ if $k$ is odd, and the $S_k$ word length of $\text{Möb}^+(n)$, if $k$ is even. As a consequence, for a fixed codimension $k$ the length of $\text{Möb}^{+}(n)$ with respect to $S_k$, $k$ even, grows linearly …
We show that the Morse boundary of a right-angled Coxeter group may contain embedded circles that do not arise as the boundary of a Morse Fuchsian subgroup visible in the defining graph.
We provide partial results towards a conjectural generalization of a theorem of Lubotzky-Mozes-Raghunathan for arithmetic groups (over number fields or function fields) that implies, in low dimensions, both polynomial isoperimetric inequalities and finiteness properties. As a tool in our proof, we establish polynomial isoperimetric inequalities and finiteness properties for certain solvable groups that appear as subgroups of parabolic groups in semisimple groups, thus generalizing a theorem of Bux. We also develop a precise version of reduction theory for arithmetic groups whose proof is, for …
We construct a family of right-angled Coxeter groups which provide counter-examples to questions about the stable boundary of a group, one-endedness of quasi-geodesically stable subgroups, and the commensurability types of right-angled Coxeter groups.
In this paper we prove that if some relatively hyperbolic groups have Bowditch boundary homeomorphic to the $n$-sphere, then they are also relatively hyperbolic with respect to another set of parabolic subgroups and its Bowditch boundary is homeomorphic to the $n-1$-dimensional Sierpiński carpet.
We construct an example of a hyperbolic group with a hyperbolic subgroup for which the Cannon-Thurston map does not exist. That is, inclusion does not induce a map of the boundaries.
Let $Γ$ be a relatively hyperbolic group and let $μ$ be an admissible symmetric finitely supported probability measure on $Γ$. We extend Floyd-Ancona type inequalities up to the spectral radius of $μ$. We then show that when the parabolic subgroups are virtually abelian, the Martin boundary of the induced random walk on $Γ$ is stable in the sense of Picardello and Woess. We also define a notion of spectral degenerescence along parabolic subgroups and give a criterion for strong stability of the Martin boundary in terms of spectral degenerescence. We prove that this criterion is always satisfie…
Let $k$ be an algebraically closed field. Let $B$ be the Borel subgroup of $\mGL_n(k)$ consisting of nonsingular upper triangular matrices. Let $\frb = \mLie B$ be the Lie algebra of upper triangular $n \times n$ matrices and $\fru$ the Lie subalgebra of $\frb$ consisting of strictly upper triangular matrices. We classify all Lie ideals $\frn$ of $\frb$, satisfying $\fru' \subseteq \frn \subseteq \fru$, such that $B$ acts (by conjugation) on $\frn$ with a dense orbit. Further, in case $B$ does not act with a dense orbit, we give the minimal codimension of a $B$--orbit in $\frn$. This can be vi…
Let $G$ be a connected, simply connected one-parameter metabelian nilpotent Lie group, that means, the corresponding Lie algebra has a one-codimensional abelian subalgebra. In this article we show that $G$ contains a discrete cocompact subgroup. Given a discrete cocompact subgroup $Γ$ of $G$, we define the quasi-regular representation $τ= {\rm ind}_Γ^G 1$ of $G$. The basic problem considered in this paper concerns the decomposition of $τ$ into irreducibles. We give an orbital description of the spectrum, the multiplicity function and we construct an explicit intertwining operator between $τ$ a…
Mahan Mitra (Mj) proved Cannon--Thurston maps exist for normal hyperbolic subgroups of a hyperbolic group. We prove that Cannon--Thurston maps do not exist for infinite normal hyperbolic subgroups of non-hyperbolic CAT(0) groups with isolated flats with respect to the visual boundaries. We also show Cannon--Thurston maps do not exist for infinite infinite-index normal CAT(0) subgroups with isolated flats in non-hyperbolic CAT(0) groups with isolated flats. We obtain a structure theorem for the normal subgroups in these settings and show that outer automorphism groups of hyperbolic groups have …
Furstenberg has associated to every topological group $G$ a universal boundary $\partial(G)$. If we consider in addition a subgroup $H<G$, the relative notion of $(G,H)$-boundaries admits again a maximal object $\partial(G,H)$. In the case of discrete groups, an equivalent notion was introduced by Bearden--Kalantar as a very special instance of their constructions. However, the analogous universality does not always hold, even for discrete groups. On the other hand, it does hold in the affine reformulation in terms of convex compact sets, which admits a universal simplex $Δ(G,H)$, namely the s…
Hierarchically hyperbolic spaces provide a common framework for studying mapping class groups of finite type surfaces, Teichmüller space, right-angled Artin groups, and many other cubical groups. Given such a space $\mathcal X$, we build a bordificationcompatible with the hierarchically hyperbolic structure. If $\mathcal X$ is proper, we get a compactification of $\mathcal X$; we also prove that our construction generalizes the Gromov boundary of a hyperbolic space. In our first main set of applications, we introduce a notion of geometrical finiteness for hierarchically hyperbolic subgroups of…
Suppose a group $G$ is relatively hyperbolic with respect to a collection $\PP$ of its subgroups and also acts properly, cocompactly on a $\CAT(0)$ (or $δ$--hyperbolic) space $X$. The relatively hyperbolic structure provides a relative boundary $\partial(G,\PP)$. The $\CAT(0)$ structure provides a different boundary at infinity $\partial X$. In this article, we examine the connection between these two spaces at infinity. In particular, we show that $\partial (G,\PP)$ is $G$--equivariantly homeomorphic to the space obtained from $\partial X$ by identifying the peripheral limit points of the sam…
In this paper we show that if $Y=N \times \mathbb{Q}_m$ is a metric space where $N$ is a Carnot group endowed with the Carnot-Caratheodory metric then any quasisymmetric map of $Y$ is actually bilipschitz. The key observation is that $Y$ is the parabolic visual boundary of a mixed type locally compact amenable hyperbolic group. The same results also hold for a larger class of nilpotent Lie groups $N$. As part of the proof we also obtain partial quasi-isometric rigidity results for mixed type locally compact amenable hyperbolic groups. Finally we prove a rigidity result for uniform subgroups of…
We introduce and study the operation, called dense amalgam, which to any tuple X_1,...,X_k of non-empty compact metric spaces associates some disconnected perfect compact metric space, denoted $\widetilde\sqcup(X_1,...,X_k)$, in which there are many appropriately distributed copies of the spaces X_1,...,X_k. We then show that, in various settings, the ideal boundary of the free product of groups is homeomorphic to the dense amalgam of boundaries of the factors. We give also related more general results for graphs of groups with finite edge groups. We justify these results by referring to a con…